My bad habit is binge watching TV so to break this habit, I committed to not turn on my television for the entire month of August. This is a challenge for me but it is possible. A few articles I have researched on breaking bad habits were informative and I want to apply them right away.

One good tip I saw was replacing your bad habit with a good habit. What is your one of your bad habits? What is one good habit you want to get into? Is it reading more, working out, or taking on a new project? Is your bad habit distracting you from these mindful activities to better yourself and get closer to your goal? If yes, how can we change it?

The next step identifying your trigger. When do you do this bad habit? How are you feeling before doing this activity? Stressed? Bored? For me, whenever I am stressed or bored I want to zone out of my state of being and watch someone else’s life for a little bit. This is my band-aid from dealing with these feelings myself. By not watching television to distract myself, I am able to address these feelings head on and deal with them as they come up.

So what to do instead of your bad habit? Ask yourself what else you like to do and write it down on a Post-It. I wrote down five activities I could do for free so whenever I feel like turning on the TV, I could do these things instead. I stuck the Post-It on the television so it is in my sight when I am in the living room. I also deleted the Netflix app on my phone. Whenever I feel the urge to turn on my television, I can look at the list, and pick an activity to do instead. With this method, I hope to change my behaviour when I am bored or stressed. Over the month, I will give you some updates on how this challenge is going, any advice I can give, and what I decided to do with my free time. I hope you can join me. Whatever your bad habit is, you can change it! If you have any tips or tricks for breaking a bad habit, please leave them in the comments section below. I will be delighted to hear from you!

This challenge is inspired by this Sarah’s Scribble comic. I am pretty sure the artist, Sarah Andersen, is depicting my entire life through these comics. I turn into a monster when my wifi goes down, Mark can attest to that. 

Happy Saturday! 

Stay connected on the daily by following me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  Made this recipe? I would love to see it! Use the hashtag #screcipe on your social media. 

Crispy Cornmeal Pancakes w/ Blueberry Sauce

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

These pancakes aren't your typical diner pancakes since they are vegan, gluten free, lightly sweetened, and crispy from the addition of cornmeal. They are, what I imagine, a Southern grandma makes on a Sunday morning. The blueberry sauce is simple, quick, and pairs well with the corn-flavour of the pancakes. I added 2 tablespoons of maple syrup to the sauce but if you want it sweeter, add more to taste. I used frozen blueberries for this recipe and if you are using fresh ones, you may have to add an extra splash of water to the sauce. Frozen berries release more liquid when cooked. This recipe serves 10- 5" pancakes and ¾ cup of blueberry sauce.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Ingredients

For the Pancakes

• 1 tablespoon ground golden flax
• 3 tablespoons warm water
• 1 very ripe banana, peeled
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk*
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil + more for greasing the pan
• 1 tablespoon baking powder (yes, a tablespoon)
• ¾ cup gluten free prepared flour (I used Bob Mill’s 1:1 GF flour)
• ¾ cup fine cornmeal
• Pinch of fine grain sea salt

For the Blueberry Sauce

• 1 ¼ cups frozen blueberries, divided
• 2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

For the Blueberry Sauce

1. In a small saucepot over medium heat, add 1 cup of blueberries, maple syrup, and water and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once most of the berries have thawed, mash the mixture with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon.
2. Add the arrowroot powder and stir consistently until thicken slightly. Add the lemon juice and remaining blueberries and stir until the additional berries have thawed. Take off heat until you are about to serve the pancakes.

For the Cornmeal Pancakes

1. While you are making your sauce, preheat oven to 200 degrees and set a wire baking rack over a baking sheet. The pancakes will stay crispier if they are kept warm on a wire rack.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flax and water to create a flax egg; let sit to gel up. Once the flax egg is ready, add the banana and mash with a potato masher or fork until smooth and no large lumps remain.
3. Add the milk, maple syrup and coconut oil. At this time, heat and oil your griddle or skillet over medium heat to cook the pancakes. You want it to be hot before the batter hits it.
4. Add baking powder and whisk until foamy and mixed thoroughly.
5. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until no large lumps remain but a few streaks of flour are ok.
6. Measure out ¼ cup of batter and pour onto the hot skillet; smoothing out the batter with the back of a spoon. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until you see bubbles on the top of the pancake; flip and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.
7. Transfer pancake to the wire rack in the oven and continue with the rest of the batter, regressing the pan as needed.
8. Once all the pancakes are cooked, reheat the blueberry sauce until warm. Stack the pancakes up and pour on the blueberry sauce. Best served with a large cup of coffee. Enjoy!

Notes

*Measure the milk and let sit out of the refrigerator while you prepare the sauce. Refridgerator cold milk will solidify the melted coconut oil.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 10 Calories: 155 Fat: 4g Saturated fat: 2g Unsaturated fat: 1g Carbohydrates: 29g Sugar: 9g Sodium: 19mg Fiber: 2g Protein: 2g

3.3.3077

The post Crispy Cornmeal Pancakes w/ Blueberry Sauce {GF} appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

Mark doesn’t care for typical breakfast foods but he sure does love pancakes. I have a Whole-Wheat Blueberry Pancakes recipe that are kid approved but I wanted a recipe that was a touch more grown up. Pulse some almonds and add some orange zest with a touch of liquor makes this typical diner breakfast elegant. 

This Sunday was a special because Mark came home from France! He told me all about his trip over breakfast and coffee. One night he was doing a sound check for the Hennessy Music Festival in Cognac and guess who was also doing their sound check on a different stage? Allen Stone!

If you have never heard of his music before go and youtube it now, Unaware and his cover of Marcy Playground’s Sex and Candy are my favourties. Mark and I are big fans and are going to see him play at The Phoenix in October. He apparently fangirl-ed hard for him and his band and had no shame in telling me so. I am still sort of jealous because I was in my dank and dark dungeon of a classroom doing quadratic functions for academic upgrading while he partied with rock stars in Cognac, France. Sighhh but Mark promises me that we will return to Europe soon enough. In the meantime, summer peaches will occupy my thoughts. 

Needless to say, I am so glad he is home and I think he is as well despite having a life changing experience in France. Thankfully he brought back some goodies for me to indulge in. Cheers to lazy Saturday, pancake breakfast and of course some Cognac.

The post Peaches and Cream Pancakes {Vegan, Gluten-Free, Oil-Free} appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

Sammy just turned 7 and though I missed his birthday party (I am still so sad about this) I had offered my sister to bring him to Toronto for a few days over the March break. Both my sister and my nephew whole heartedly agreed and I could hear his anticipation over the phone telling me he had only a couple more sleeps until I was going to pick him on the GO train.

I was feeling great! Cool Auntie Jess was taking her small town nephew out into the big city, exploring the different neighbourhoods, taking him to the movies (that part was mostly for me, I really wanted to see the Lego Movie), watching Pokémon on Netflix while eating stove top popcorn and staying up waaay past his bedtime. I was so pumped! However as soon as I picked him up from my sister, the first question out of his mouth: “Where is Mark?”

Whaaat? My sister told me that he had asked about Mark the whole way to the train station. Was Cool Auntie Jess not so cool anymore? I knew that Mark and Sammy had bonded over Christmas since Mark is just a big kid himself. They played Pokémon cards together and both love video games, you know, boy stuff.

 Yes, that is a Super Nintendo and Sammy tried to wipe the outside of the video game with his shirt when it didn’t work the first time. I showed him that you have to blow into it to get all the dust out. He finds it a little dated and prefers the PS3. Perhaps it is because I kicked his butt in Mortal Combat? Why am I so proud of myself for beating a 7 year old in a game? Sammy is also enjoying a kale and berry smoothie. I just forgot to mention all the kale I put in it.

I may treat Sammy a little too baby-ish when I see him, which is apparently a huge mistake when around other people. At Christmas I oohed and awed over him a little too much and when I kissed him on the cheek in front of his cousin who is the same age as him, I had crossed the line. Even my sister whispered to me, “Jess you are embarrassing him in front of his friends.” Oh no. What had I done? I pulled a “Mom Move”. I always told myself as a kid that I would never embarrass my (or sister’s) kids in front of their friends but then I went and did it. I was mortified.

I decided to lay off a bit and though it is hard, I try to act a little less like a public embarrassment around him. He still grabs my hand while crossing the street and thinks my activity planning is still cool and fun. Small victories and I will take them!

Sammy is not a vegan at his house but when he comes to my house he eats whatever I give him. He is a pretty good eater when it comes to healthy food. He really loves cucumbers, carrots and all the fruit he has ever tried. Last time he stayed with Mark and I, he ate an entire watermelon and its black seeds in a matter of 2 days. I told him that a watermelon would grow in his stomach but he called me out. Sigh. I bet he doesn’t think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows either. Kids these days…

Thankfully, there is one thing Sammy enjoys that I do better than Mark does and that is pancake making, especially this recipe. He doesn’t know they are vegan or whole wheat, he just knows that he likes them a lot.

 Notes:

• Patience is key while making pancakes. Wait for the pan to be hot enough and wait until you see some bubbles come up through the pancake. You won’t regret it.
• Transfer pancakes to a wire rack over a baking sheet while cooking the others. The wire rack helps air ventilation keeps the crispiness in tact on each side of the pancake but do not stack pancakes on top of each other while in the oven.
• DO NOT OVERMIX! Over mixing causes the pancakes to become rubbery. A few lumps of flour is ok.

• Do not overload each pancake with berries. The blueberries release a lot of liquid when they are cooked so if you add too many it will result in a mushy pancake. Stick to about 5-6 berries per pancake depending on how large your berries are. You can use frozen berries but it will result in a blue-grey hue in the batter. I don’t mix the blueberries in the batter; I just push them into the pancake while it is cooking on the pan.
• Wtf is a chia egg? It is 1 tablespoon white chia seeds+ 3 tablespoons warm water mixed and let sit until the seeds have expanded. I used white seeds but black seeds would work just fine. I know some kids can be picky and might not want to see black little seeds in their meal but the white ones blend right in.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes: Kid Approved

Makes approx. 14 pancakes

•  2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (sometimes called “soft” whole wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1 chia egg (see note)
• 3 tablespoons Earth Balance or coconut oil, melted and cooled (with the oil, it will taste a little coconut-y)
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup + more for serving
• 1 cup fresh or frozen (see notes) blueberries, rinsed and dried. Some will be left over to serve with your pancakes.
• 3-4 teaspoons oil, any neutral flavoured oil will do (I don’t recommend olive oil)

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and place on the oven rack. Whisk milk and vinegar (or lemon juice) together in a medium bowl; set aside to thicken the milk.I n a large bowl, whisk together the flour, powder, soda and salt until combined. Form a well in the middle of the mixture.

In the medium bowl with the milk, add the chia seeds, syrup and melted butter or oil and whisk until combined. Pour the wet mixture into the well of the dry ingredients and whisk gently until just combined. I repeat myself in saying please do not over mix!

Heat 1 teaspoon in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Using a ¼-cup measure, portion the batter into the pan, creating 4 pancakes, smooth the pancake batter out with a spatula. Add 5-6 berries per pancake, gently pushing them down into the pancake. Cook pancakes until bubbles on its surface appear, about 1-2 minutes. Flip the pancakes with a wide spatula and cook the second side for another minute or 1-½ minutes. Transfer pancakes to wire rack and repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil with each new batch.

Stack with fresh blueberries, strawberries, bananas (whatever you like!) and serve with pure maple syrup.

While you dine on these berry-full pancakes dream of warmer days. Is anyone else tired of seeing this? I know I am done with the bundling and unbundling of coat, hat, mitts, boots, scarves etc. Springtime needs to hurry up!

There is a park under all that blowing snow. 9 more days until Spring?

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